Out of the Ashes

In the 30th Psalm, we read about God's faithfulness, even when we may have strayed away from Him or not experienced the benefits at His righteous hand:
2O Lord my God, I cried out to You, And You healed me.3O Lord, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.4Sing praise to the Lord, You saints of His, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.5For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.

Our personal failures or struggles can actually be catalysts for a deeper walk with God.   Out of the ashes of personal tragedy can come a spiritual strengthening and a greater reliance of the faithfulness of God.   There is a tendency to become resentful when we experience loss and retaliatory when people do not act toward us the way that we think they should.   A broken relationship can certainly make us bitter, but God wants to take those times of brokenness and make us better people - repairing the broken vessel and filling that vessel afresh and anew with His powerful Spirit.

We can gain insight into the loving and restorative nature of God as we read the promise in Isaiah 61 to His people:
1"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;2To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn,3To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified."

The past week was all about observing occasions where resiliency was the response.   Of course, the commemorations of 9/11 took place throughout the nation, and while initially there was a push to turn to God after the horrific events of that day, there were many that sought out rebuilding and retaliation rather than repentance and revival.  That's why the "Cry Out America" events were so refreshing, because they offered a spiritual response on a day that had enormous spiritual implications - the 9/11 hijackers were motivated by the errant religious promise that by killing the innocents, they could inherit some sort of eternal reward.   And, there are many of us that view 9/11 as an enormous wake-up call, recognizing the vulnerability of our nation if we do not place our trust in the one true God.

And, Sunday marked the 50th anniversary of the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, where 4 little girls lost their lives and the burgeoning civil rights movement received another spark to fuel the fire to turn back and overcome the blight of racism on our land.   The Gospel Coalition blog offered some coverage of this significant event in American history.   In her piece offering 9 aspects of the 16th Street bombing, Betsy Childs recounts that Martin Luther King Jr. offered these words of comfort at the girls' funeral:

And so my friends, they did not die in vain. God still has a way of wringing good out of evil. And history has proven over and over again that unmerited suffering is redemptive. The innocent blood of these little girls may well serve as a redemptive force that will bring new light to this dark city.

Childs states that Dr. King's words "would prove true as the death of four little girls galvanized the sympathy of the nation and the world for the cause of the civil rights movement. Survivors of the blast would never fully recover from the trauma, but 50 years later, they work to forgive their enemies and honor the legacy of four little girls."    Special commemorations have been taking place in Kelly Ingram Park in Birmingham, which is located across the street from the church.   A community memorial was held yesterday afternoon in the city, and earlier in the week, former television star and now ministry Clifton Davis and pastor/musical artist Donnie McClurkin hosted a special service.    Bill Cosby spoke in the city on Saturday, chairing "Changing Lives Education & Entrepreneurial Summit," focusing on the importance of education and entrepreneurship in helping young African Americans succeed.

Another Gospel Coalition piece, written by Melissa Huff, features the story of Junie Collins Williams, whose baby sister, Addie Mae Collins, was one of four little girls killed in that bombing. The writer was working at a Birmingham urban church and Ms. Williams - Junie - began attending their ladies' group. At one point, at a summer camp, the church's pastor asked Junie to share a bit about her story with the children. Huff writes that Junie shares her recollections in obedience to the Lord. She states that:

Then, as if pulling a tightly woven thread of courage from deep within, she told us searing memories of that horrific day. Her pain and sorrow seemed fresh even after 40 years. The loss of her baby sister was almost more than she could bear to put into words. She told us how she had been the one who had to identify the body of her dead sister when her parents and older siblings could not be reached. There was so much debris and glass in her skin and hair that she had to look down at her Addie's shoes to make sure it was really her.

Despite the emotional trauma, Junie desperately wanted this young generation to know there is no wound too deep, no injustice so grave that the Lord can't heal it and make forgiveness possible.

On her website, Junie Williams has posted:

There is hope for healing in America. I know, because I have been healed. I could have let this situation get the best of me, but through God's work in me, I pushed my way through until what seemed to be a burden around my head was pushed off. And so, God took a day [that] was meant for evil, and turned it around for the good of all...

Melissa Huff describes Junie as "an enduring example of beauty rising from the ashes."  And, indeed, as Dr. King said at the funeral for the 4 young victims at 16th Street, "God still has a way of wringing good out of evil."  The Scriptures say that it is God's nature to give beauty for ashes.  Out of the ashes of 16th Street, there is hope and healing...out of the ashes of 9/11, we can experience redemption and even revival if we allow that event to be a catalyst.   And, perhaps your personal ashes can be a catalyst for newfound beauty to be brought forth by a loving God who is mighty to save, powerful to heal, and so loving, that He might express His forgiveness to and through each of us.